Gaz, Taster of Pork
Plot Dib discovers that one of his Spelldrives, an electronic book that utilizes magic, still has unused cast points on it, he decides to use it. Dib comes across a spell that sounds interesting, but casts it on his sister, Gaz, first, in order to test and see if the spell is one he'd like to use on himself. However, the spell makes everything Gaz eats taste like pig. Once Gaz figures out Dib is behind it, she threatens to destroy her brother if he doesn’t help her get back to normal. Dib has trouble finding a cure, so he talks to Professor Membrane. All their father does, though, is put Gaz in a cage and treat her like a freak, so Dib goes off to ask The Swollen Eyeball Network if they have any advice on the situation. They report back that there is only one way for Gaz to get her sense of taste restored: she and Dib must travel to an alternate piggy dimension and ask The Shadow Hog to return her to normal. After helping his sister break out of the cage, DIb and Gaz go to Mystical Hill and use one of Dib's Spelldrives to teleport them to the home of the Shadow Hog. There, after much convincing, the Shadow Hog agrees to cure Gaz, but only if she passes "The Trial". Gaz readily agrees to these terms, but Dib becomes concerned for his little sister, as she knows so little about the Paranormal, and she must pass on her own. In truth, once Gaz enters the arena where The Trial takes place, the Shadow Hog asks her two questions, both of which she answers correctly. Then they spend the rest of the time hanging out and talking. Meanwhile, Dib is outside the arena trying to break in to help Gaz, and getting beat up in the process. When he finally makes it in, he assumes Gaz failed and begs the Shadow Hog to punish him instead, after confessing it was his fault Gaz was cursed. Both the Shadow Hog and Gaz decide to do as he wishes, and Gaz goes home back to normal, while Dib is stuck in the piggy dimension cleaning out the Shadow Hog's toilet with his head. Facts of Doom Cultural References *Near the end of the episode, Gaz utters the infamous Konami Code, being Up-Up-Down-Down-Left-Right-Left-Right A, B, B, A, Start being the code she said for gaining unlimited lives in Super Kicky Fighter, a parody of Super Street Fighter. *In a comic strip in JTHM, (Tickle Me Hellmo) one of Hellmo's deadly features is making a child taste nothing but pork. Tickle Me Hellmo is an obvious reference to the 90's toy, Tickle Me Elmo. *The hill that Gaz and Dib are on in beaver costumes is Lover's Hill from JTHM. Trivia of Doom *While walking into their house towards the middle of the episode, Dib and Gaz are seen holding hands, which is only time in the series where they’ve interacted with one another in a genuinely positive manner. *Steve Ressel has adamantly stated that this is his least favorite episode in the series. *This is one of the few times Zim and GIR have minor roles. *This episode marks the first (and only) appearance of the Hobo, a down-and-out bum with a big bushy beard, whom Dib meets at Bloaty's Pizza Hog. Hobo was slated to have a more major role in an unfinished episode called Roboparents Gone Wild. *Despite Gaz's dark and cruel nature, she still sleeps in some pink pajamas that have little bat wings on the back of them in one scene. *We learn in this episode that Gaz has some robotic stuffed animals that she has in her room, which she uses for security purposes. *This episode never aired in the US until 2006, but it has aired in other countries years earlier, such as in 2003 in Australia. *GIR has one line in this episode ("I got monkeys in me!"). Rosearik Rikki Simons (GIR's voice actor) said that he actually got paid just to say that. Things You Might Have Missed *There is a poster on Gaz's bedroom door that says "Outside is Stupid." *After Gaz summons security, there is a poster behind Gaz that reads "Swollen Squirrel." It is unknown if the man on the right is Johnny C. *When Zim asked for Dib's help in Planet Jackers, Dib refused. Now, when Dib asked for Zim's help, it's Zim's turn to return the favor. *When Dib is asking Zim for help and Zim refuses, Dib remarks “I helped you when we were turning into giant bolognies!”, which is a reference to a previous episode of Invader Zim entitled Bolognius Maximus. This recollection implies that the two were cured in the time following the events of that episode. *Look closely when Dib looks into the Shadow Hog's "Filthy Toilet of Filthy Piggy Filth." When Dib is screaming, there is a lens on the toilet. Animation Errors *Gaz eats the hot dog and says it tastes normal, though it should have tasted differently since the bread would have also tasted like pig. *If you look closely after Gaz says " Everything tastes like Pig. A PIG!". Then she slams the refrigerator door, and when she walks behind it, she disappears a bit too quickly. *Just before we close up to Zim when Dib needs help, look behind the house: it lights up for no apparent reason. * When Dib is asking Zim for help, GIR's nose looks much like Dib's. *This episode marks Dib's second seen appearance on "Mysterious Mysteries"; the first time being in Mysterious Mysteries. *The first scene when Zim is laughing before the animation error occurs, GIR looks more like a dog. *When Zim says "I've loaded GIR full of explosive monkeys and I'm about to", the color of his lenses are pink instead of blue. *When GIR is yelling "I got monkeys in me!" you can clearly see he has teeth. Quotes Professor Membrane: Ha ha! You’re my funny child! Agent Tuna Ghost: Agent Mothman, why were you talking to yourself just now? Dib: I don't know, but I do that a lot. Agent Tuna Ghost: That's stupid. Dib: Isn't it? Gaz: Everything tastes like a pig... A pig! Gaz: Curse you, Dib! Curse you! Curse you! CURSE YOU! Zim: I've loaded GIR full of explosive monkeys, and I am about to... Dib: That's great Zim, maybe you can tell me about this later, I gotta go. GIR: I got monkeys in me! Zim: Fool! Begone with you-u-u-u-u! Dib: Found one! The Sense of the Shadowhog, uses one power point and enhances the sense of... hmmm... can't read it, but it sounds cool. Enhanced something is good! But what if it doesn't work the way I hope it does? I have a plan! Since I have two points and the spell only takes one, I can just use it twice. I'll just cast it on someone else first. Then, and only then... will I stop talking to myself. Gaz: I've never missed a new pizza day at Bloaty's. If this next one is ruined by your magical stupidity, I'll make you wish you had rabid weasels teleported into your skull instead of having a sister. I'll wait until you sleep and stuff all of your paranormal junk into your big, giant paranormal head, and chew on your eyeballs after I pluck them out! Hobo: Yeah, I remember when I summoned a hog demon to curse my sister with pig mouth and had to deal with having a cursed sister. It was awful! The whole ordeal turned me into a hobo. Naaah...(smashes body on the table) Word of advice. Dib: I don't wanna become a hobo. Hobo: Oh. Dib: Science won't help you, Gaz. Gaz: Science won't replace your head after I tear it from your torso if you don't hurry. Search Guy: It's too late! They've turned into a book! I told them this would happen!! Mysterious Mysteries Host: That's very interesting Dib, but can you tell us more about your head? Dib: (voice speeds up) As you know, each Spell Drive contains a certain amount of Power Points, I for one found that-- Mysterious Mysteries Host: Your head Dib, your head! Concept Art Image:Robots_Freaktoys.jpg|Gaz's freakish robot toys. References External links *http://www.tv.com/invader-zim/gaz-taster-of-pork/episode/143604/summary.html *http://web.archive.org/web/20070502014141/http://www.thescarymonkeyshow.com/features/trans/gtop.htm Category:Double Length Episodes Category:Season 2 Category:Dib Filmography Category:Gaz Filmography Category:GIR Filmography Category:Professor Membrane Filmography Category:Zim Filmography Category:Episodes